More Like This

Preview

Although postmodern America no longer witnesses the epic battles over censorship that engaged modern writers such as James Joyce and Henry Miller, the obscene still frays tempers and incites debate. Some feminists argue hotly against pornographic material on the grounds that it constitutes violence against women. Still others openly defend the pornographic and the obscene as a legitimate realm of erotic expression. In any case, both pornography and obscenity seem fixtures in the late-night, low-rent postmodern marketplace. A biocultural perspective would suggest that the obscene achieves its...

Although postmodern America no longer witnesses the epic battles over censorship that engaged modern writers such as James Joyce and Henry Miller, the obscene still frays tempers and incites debate. Some feminists argue hotly against pornographic material on the grounds that it constitutes violence against women. Still others openly defend the pornographic and the obscene as a legitimate realm of erotic expression. In any case, both pornography and obscenity seem fixtures in the late-night, low-rent postmodern marketplace. A biocultural perspective would suggest that the obscene achieves its apparently ineradicable place by weaving together powerful elements of our biology psychology and social life.